The comic adaptation of Attack of the Clones was written by Henry Gilroy (using George Lucas's script) and drawn by Jan Duursema. It released in four issues, with issues 1 and 2 released on 24 April 2002, and issues 3 and 4 on 1 May 2002. All four issues had two covers, one artistic and one photographic. Each issue initially cost $3.99 USD, which is higher than normal (though the issues were slightly thicker than normal, at 48 pages each). The Trade Paperback collecting issues 1 to 4 was also released on 24 April along with the first two issues (note: the same thing happened with the comic releases of both The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith). It cost $17.95 USD, which is slightly more than the cost of all four issues individually. The comic adaptation of Attack of the Clones will also be collected in the upcoming Omnibus: The Complete Saga, due out 12 October 2011. For this analysis, I read the Trade Paperback edition, which does not clearly identify where one issue ends and another begins, so all four are reviewed simultaneously.

Summary:
This comic tells the same story as the film, novel, etc., and so will not be repeated here.

Pros:
-To fit the entire story in the smaller space, the pace of action is significantly faster.
-We got a more detailed look at Obi-Wan exploring Geonosis. He had to fend off a wild lizard, and bore witness to hundreds of Trade Federation Core Ships being loaded up with battle droids (in the other adaptations, he merely saw the ships on the ground).

Cons:
-Some information is lost in this adaptation, especially compared to the novel.
-Sometimes the characters don't look quite right. There's one specific panel where Padmé did not look like Padmé at all. She also suffers in a few panels from what I call "Variable Boob Syndrome", where the bust size of female characters in a comic book is not consistent with descriptions in a novel or live action appearances.

Fun Facts:
-Jango Fett's total appearance was revealed to the reader very early (when he gave the Kouhouns to Zam Wesell). In the film, we only saw his profile, so we didn't know for certain who he was until Kamino.
-Something I had not noticed earlier, but the different adaptations include different characters in the Separatist Leaders Council scene. In the film, we clearly saw and heard Nute Gunray, Wat Tambor, Shu Mai, and San Hill. The novel excluded Wat Tambor but gave a bigger role to Poggle the Lesser and Passel Argente. The comic removes Shu Mai and replaces her with Toonbuck Toora, who in the movie is still on the Republic side, standing next to Palpatine on Coruscant.
-Once again, the manner in which the CIS formation is reported to Coruscant is different. Here, Obi-Wan's transmission is sent directly to Palpatine's office, where several Jedi and the Chancellor's inner circle are present.

I did enjoy this adaptation of Episode II, but it does go by very fast. Certain information is lost, so I wouldn't rely on this alone for the story of Attack of the Clones. Also, if you do not yet own this, hold off on buying it until October 2011, as it will be included in Omnibus: The Complete Saga, along with the comic adaptations of Episodes I and III, the Special Edition of Episode IV, and the Marvel adaptations of Episodes V and VI.

Next up: a pair of short comics: Dear Anakin (from Manga) and Nobody's Perfect (from Tales).

Luckily I found this in time - right underneath my nose! I should cut that thing off, it's been nothing but a disappointment to me...

Anyhoo, I read the comic adaptation - which I got, as a gift, in a three for one package that included Jango Fett and Zam Wessel comics. I don't know if this was an in-store deal, or something the publishers did, but it did come in a fancy carboard box, so I suspect the latter.

On the whole, I didn't like this one. Yoda appeared to be based on the Episode I model, not the CGI model of the actual film.

While it included several scenes that were originally deleted, like Padme's address to the senate (sidenote: it wasn't even addressed in the beginning that Padme was being targeted for attack), it also took out several scenes - the one which I remember most vividly was the Yoda-Dooku Force lightning fight. That was nowhere to be seen.

The dialogue stayed fairly true to the film, but it did stray at some points, which oddly enough had two opposing effects: some scenes which annoyed me in the film were more natural in the comic, but others - some I found to be done well in the film were messed with in the comic, so that it seemed quite disjointed.

The pacing was, as Taral said, fast, but it was also unequal. The whole chase scene of the assassin droid and Zam took up roughly 12 pages, yet the Geonosis arena fight, the clone battle, and the Dooku vs Obi Wan, Anakin and Yoda fight took up something like 18 pages alltogether. Considering the last act was far longer in the film, this was entirely unfair, in my opinion, considering that was that part I enjoyed the most, and looked forward to the most.

One fun fact, though: Quinlan Vos could be seen in the Arena battle - yet it's interesting to note that he wasn't in the film, or novel adaptations._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 12:06 pm

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 2062Location: Ontario, Canada

12: The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars was a video game released in October/November 2002 for the Playstation 2 and Nintendo GameCube (uncertain; Wookieepedia and Wikipedia show different information), and in April 2003 for the XBox. It was developed by Pandemic Studios (who also made the Battlefront games, but is now defunct) and published by LucasArts. It allowed the player to fill the role of Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Anakin Skywalker (depending on the mission) in several battles in the first days of the Clone Wars. The player could either control the Jedi character on foot, or (in most cases) in a vehicle, often a Saber Tank. The game also had a multiplayer component, which I did not try. I played a GameCube version on my Nintendo Wii. Because I was most interested in the story, I played it on Easy mode, and, despite several attempts, I used the invulnerability cheat (see the Cons section).

Summary:
-The game begins with the Battle of Geonosis. We get some new insights into the battle as we play as Mace Windu. The first two missions are in the lead-up to the Jedi assault on the Geonosis Arena, and the third follows Mace as he takes a Commando squad to destroy CIS ships and vehicles in a LAAT, followed by a Saber Tank.
-The next is the Battle of Rhen Var. The Outpost at Rhen Var is being overrun. As Anakin, you assist in the defense and evacuation of the base from a LAAT.
-Next is the Battle of Raxus Prime. Anakin and Obi-Wan locate a CIS excavation site. As Obi-Wan, you use a Tank to prevent the CIS from resupplying, and then attack directly.
-Anakin is captured at Raxus Prime and relocated to Alaris Prime, where Dooku deploys the Force Harvester, a weapon he harvested from Raxus Prime. Anakin and mercenary Bera Kazan escape the Force Harvester and call for the Republic, who route the CIS from Alaris Prime.
-It is discovered that the Force Harvester is part of the Dark Reaper, a weapon of mass destruction from the Great Sith War. It was destroyed by the Jedi with the help of Ulic Qel-Droma after his defection to the Republic. Anakin returns to Rhen Var to locate Ulic's tomb and learn the secrets of the Dark Reaper. He meets the spirit of Ulic Qel-Droma, who teaches him how to protect himself against the Dark Reaper, but warns that it could lead to the path to the Dark Side.
-The Republic learns that the Dark Reaper is on Thule, a former Sith world. After Anakin took out Thule's planetary shield (located on its moon Sivvi), Obi-Wan and Mace led an assault on Thule. Anakin assaults Thule's Sith Temple and destroys the Dark Reaper, and all is well...for now.

Pros:
-There was a nice variety of both enemy and allied ships, many of whom are unique to this game. As the Republic, you can play as a Jedi on the ground, a Saber Tank, a LAAT, and an AT-XT, and are joined by Republic Troop Transports, SPHA-Ts, and AT-TEs. You fight any number of both new and hold CIS units, including AATs, Fighting Tanks, Hailfire droids, and Persuader Tanks. Boss battles include the Protodeka, the Harbinger, and Cydon Prax's Dreadnought Tank. All in all, a nice variety.
-The Force Harvester looks cool. Reminds me of Dr. Manhattan's clock ship in Watchmen.
-Story tied into the Tales of the Jedi comics, an era that I always liked.
-The music is John Williams at his best. It's the score from several different films. Notable examples were the Duel of the Fates, the Imperial March, the Anakin/Padmé love theme, and the piece heard whenever large armies were shown (I can't recall the title, but it's when Obi-Wan sees the clone army in its entirety for the first time.)

Cons:
-Some of the new characters, like Bera Kazan, the mercenary allied with the Jedi, and Cydon Prax, the bounty hunter working with Dooku, are rather two-dimensional.
-The controls on the foot missions and speeder bike/STAP missions are incredibly tedious. I turned on the Invulnerability cheat because I could not escape the Force Harvester on a STAP in the first Alaris Prime mission.
-The voice acting and dialogue isn't great. Many of the voice actors are the same as from the Genndy Tartakovsky series, but the dialogue seemed weird.
-Enemy AI not great. Enemy units just charge directly for you, without using much strategy.

Fun Facts:
-The events on Raxus Prime are also detailed in Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive, from the CIS perspective.
-Raxus Prime was once the CIS capital. It is the same planet featured later in The Force Unleashed, but different from the later CIS capital of Raxus, as featured in Heroes on Both Sides and Pursuit of Peace, a pair of episodes of The Clone Wars.
-Duel count: Anakin/Dooku: +1 = 2.
-Alaris Prime is the same moon that Qui-Gon Jinn assists the Wookiees colonize in Galactic Battlegrounds.
-Several other battles referenced, including Mirgoshir, Bakura, Bespin, and Agamar.
-The game got very good reviews. IGN and Gamespot each gave it 4 out of 5.
-Many Republic vehicles were first introduced here, like the AT-XT, the Saber Tank, and the Republic Troop Transport. Some of these would return (the Saber and its variants were quite prolific in video games), while others were used sparingly (the RTT only came back in The Clone Wars Campaign Guide.) Several of the new CIS vehicles would also never be seen again.

All in all, this is a really cool game. I liked the gameplay, and the story it told. And since this story is not recounted elsewhere, you need to play this to get the full story of the Dark Reaper Crisis. I recommend looking for Star Wars: The Clone Wars if you own a GameCube, PS2, XBox, or a system that is backwards-compatible to them (Wii, older PS3s, XBox 360).

To quote Anna and Kristina (a pair of Canadian cookbook/product reviewers my wife and I like), "I give this a 'Buy'."

I remember playing this game, and remember very much liking it - though I never had much of a problem on the foot levels and stap escape. The multiplayer, while quite basic (by today's standards, at least) was very fun. Both playing with others, or even playing it on my own, I had fun. Trying to play, I think, king of the hill, as a turn-based game was hilarious!_________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:34 am

Message

Ruhk OrikanKnight

Joined: 30 Apr 2011Posts: 222

This is a good idea you have! I don't think it'd have the wherewithall to go through everything that is set in a certain era, but I certainly respect you going for it. Also helps fill in my limited knowledge on things so with that, I do thank you.

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 8:03 am

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 2062Location: Ontario, Canada

FYI guys, I hope to get the next one up soon. The next one is Republic Commando, which I bought on Steam and was hoping to play a lot this week, but I've been sick (nothing serious, just a minor flu) so I haven't been at my PC much.

I hope to play a bit tonight and Saturday, so I hope to at least finish Geonosis and do my review based on that._________________http://taralbooks.blogspot.ca

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 4:47 pm

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Lord Ree'diusMaster

Joined: 11 Apr 2011Posts: 700Location: The Unknown Regions

The game is good, but it's very short.
I think there's about six hours of gameplay in there, at least the XBOX version which I own does, so you should be able to finish quite a bit in a short time I think.
If my son can spare me some time on the XBOX360 i'll try to play it too. _________________"Strong you are with the dark side, young one. But not that strong.
Still much to learn, you have. Surrender, you should."

"You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

Same here. Here's a hint to a fun fact, Taral: You may wish to translate the Aurebesh _________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 5:15 pm

Message

Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 2062Location: Ontario, Canada

14: Republic Commando

Republic Commando was a video game released on 1 March 2005. It was developed and published by LucasArts for the XBox and the PC. It was a first-person shooter (you see through the eyes of your character), where you play as RC 01/138, nicknamed Boss, leader of Delta Squad, a squad of titular Republic Commandos. You lead three additional Commandos, Scorch, Fixer, and Sev, who are specialists at demolitions, computers, and sniping, respectively. I picked the game up on Steam for $9.99 USD. For this analysis, I played through the first of the three missions (Geonosis), and then read about the remaining two.

Summary:
-There are three main missions in the campaign. The first is the Battle of Geonosis. The RCs are sent to eliminate the Geonosian Chief Lieutenant, Sun Fac, and disable a Droid Foundry inside a Geonosian Hive, and then fight their way onto a Trade Federation Core Ship, to obtain the launch codes for the Droid Army, thus preventing the retreat of much of the CIS's army.
-A year later, Delta Squad has to infiltrate the Acclamator-class ship Prosecutor, which was recovered after it was found derelict near CIS space. The RCs fight off Scavenger droids and Trandoshans, and eventually prevents the ship from falling into CIS hands.
-Near the end of the Clone Wars, Delta Squad participates in the Battle of Kashyyyk. They rescue Wookiee Chief Tarfful from Trandoshan slavers and battle droids, and participate in the battle in the city of Kachirho (from Episode III), securing key areas from the droids. At the end of the Mission, Sev is lost and presumed killed, when his squadmates are ordered to pull back.

Pros:
-The game opens with a short cutscene of Boss's growth and training on Kamino. It's cool to see the Clone Army from this perspective.
-I personally love 1st person shooters, especially on the PC with the mouse-and-keyboard controls.
-The game controls are really intuitive, especially when commanding your squadmates.
-If your health goes to zero, and you have squadmates who are still operational, they can revive you. The game only restarts if all four RCs are knocked out, or if you run out of time on a time-sensitive mission.
-Your weaponry is cool. Ultimately, you only have two guns, a pistol and a DC-17m rifle. The rifle has different attachments that turn it into a sniper rifle or an anti-armor weapon. You can also use different grenades and occasionally pick up powerful one-time use weapons.

Cons:
-All four RCs are clones of Jango Fett, but only Boss is actually voiced by Temuera Morrison. I understand the logic of having four different voice-actors to differentiate the characters, but I would have liked if they had a different way to differentiate (perhaps the squadmate's number on your HUD could light up when they're speaking?) So yes, I don't like how they're voiced by different people. These are clones. Even Boba has been retconned to having Jango's voice.
-To my knowledge, there is no co-operative mode. It would be so cool if four friends could each play separate squad members and run through the game together.

Fun Facts:
-The idea of Republic Commandos was further developed in by author Karen Traviss in her novel series of the same name, which included Hard Contact, Triple-Zero, True Colors, Order 66, and Imperial Commando: 501st. These novels mostly follow Omega Squad, a separate RC squad, but also includes Delta Squad in numerous parts.
-There is a multiplayer mode, though I did not try it.
-There was a sequel announced, Imperial Commando, though it was cancelled in 2004 (very early in development, cancelled even before the release of Republic Commando). That being said, in April 2011, Shack News reported that Tim Longo, who was a lead designer and director for Republic Commando, has recently been re-hired by LucasArts, and LucasArts has announced that it has permission to use the Unreal 3 Engine for a new game. These news reports have sparked rumors that a sequel is once again in the works.
-The events on the Prosecutor follow almost immediately from the events of Republic Commando: Triple-Zero, and the events of Kashyyyk are told from the point of view of the Jedi Etain Tur-Mukan in the novel Republic Commando: Order 66.
-The aurebesh text on numerous computer consoles translate to "I hate computers so much." It is possible that other aurebesh text can be translated to funny jokes.

I love this game. I plan to continue it and beat it, but wanted to at least finish the Geonosis level before reporting. Since it's been released for Steam, and works fine on Windows Vista machines, I recommend anyone with a PC to buy it and play it.

The voices didn't really bother me all that much. I thought it was a great way to personalise them and differentiate them. At the time of its released, the only clones I'd seen was in AOTC, and they all looked and sounded the same, but this game gave them substance._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:09 pm

Message

Lord Ree'diusMaster

Joined: 11 Apr 2011Posts: 700Location: The Unknown Regions

I actually liked that Scorch's voice was done by the same guy that voiced Carth Onasi in KOTOR. To me it made it easier to keep track of who was talking while I was shooting around.
One of the main reasons I guess why they opted for several voice actors in stead of one._________________"Strong you are with the dark side, young one. But not that strong.
Still much to learn, you have. Surrender, you should."

"You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds was a video game produced for the PC and Mac in November 2001. It was developed by Ensemble Studios and published by LucasArts. The game is a Real-Time Strategy, meaning you're looking at the map of a battlefield from above, and can control many different units at once. On 14 May 2002, Ensemble and LucasArts released the game's expansion back, Clone Campaigns, which included a CIS campaign and a Republic campaign following the release of Episode II. While I own Galactic Battlegrounds, I never bought the expansion back. My analysis of the game is based on Wookieepedia and a series of videos that chronicle the game's missions, put on YouTube by user gia257.

Summary:
-The game begins at Geonosis. General Sev'Rance Tann, a Chiss Dark Jedi, is the Supreme Commander of the Separatist military. She fights off several Republic units to ensure that Count Dooku can get to his speeder bike and escape the carnage of the Battle of Geonosis.
-General Tann leads a force to the Kaer Orbital Platform to use its facilities to build up a sizeable CIS Army. Their army is built up and evacuated before the Republic liberate the platform.
-Dooku leads Tann to Tatooine, where it is learned that Boorka the Hutt, the local crimelord of Mos Osnoe, has intelligence on a new Republic weapon, which he will share if Tann can destroy the Republic spaceport nearby. Once it's destroyed, Boorka shares that he learned the Republic was building a secret weapon, the Decimator, the planet Eredenn Prime. Tann leads another droid force to Eredenn, and steals several Decimators and a droid containing their operational codes. However, the Wookiees who engineered the Decimators included a failsafe that made the weapons useless in enemy hands. Tann leads a force to attack the Wookiee colony on Alaris Prime, to steal the Decimators' activation codes. They cripple the Republic base there and acquire the means to activate their new weapons.
-In possession of the Decimators, Dooku plans an attack against the energy-producing world of Sarapin. Tann first leads a space fleet to destroy the Republic defensive structures orbiting Sarapin, before leading the army to the surface. Using Decimators and a massive droid army, Tann destroys the Republic facilities, including the citadel at Mount Corvast, and fully conquers Sarapin. Thus ends the CIS Campaign.
-The Republic campaign chronicles the fall of Echuu Shen-Jon, Jedi Master and former Padawan of Mace Windu. At Geonosis, Shen-Jon's Padawan, Stam Reath, was murdered by Sev'Rance Tann, which would slowly drive Shen-Jon to darkness. The Jedi Council assigned Naat Reath, Stam's sister, as Shen-Jon's new Padawan, and ordered them to re-take Sarapin. They did so, but only after Sev'Rance Tann has retreated. Even so, a captured CIS officer led Shen-Jon and Reath to Boorka the Hutt on Tatooine. With Jabba the Hutt's blessing, and with the assistance of the local populace, the Jedi destroy Boorka's operation and learn of the CIS Decimator factories on Krant.
-Shen-Jon and Reath lead an attack first on Aereen, Krant's moon, and destroyed the mining facilities there. From Aereen, the Jedi were able to lead an army against Krant. Allying themselves with Wookiees stranded on Krant, they attacked the Decimator factories and destroyed them. Despite their success, Naat Reath was captured by Tann. Shen-Jon led a surgical strike to free his Padawan and killed Sev'Rance Tann in a duel. With the threat of the Decimators gone and Tann dead, Reath returned to Coruscant to report to the Jedi Council. But Echuu Shen-Jon, having been corrupted by the Dark Side, would live out the war in exile on Krant.
Pros:
-A lot of diversity in the Units. Like the original Galactic Battlegrounds, both the Republic and the CIS have access to a set list of units, which are almost all upgradeable. Many of the units are derived from vehicles or droids seen in Episode II, though their functions may have changed. A number of these units are never seen again, but I like to think that maybe some of them were fast refits of existing technology to fill the immediate needs of the Republic and CIS armies (for example, the fighter and bomber units are clearly derived from the LAAT/i Gunship, perhaps the Republic Corps of Engineers retrofitted some LAATs to serve as both light fighters and bombers, because Republic shipwrights were not yet capable of mass-producing enough V-19 Torrents and Y-Wings to fill the needs of the Republic.
-The CIS can train "predators" (Reek, Nexu, or Acklay), which have similar function as the normal predators of the game (like Gundarks), but follow CIS orders.
-The game added the Air Cruiser unit to all factions in Galactic Battlegrounds, which made air power significantly more important. These ships (Republic Starship or Confederacy Cruiser), had heavy artillery which could decimate an enemy force.
-Cool unit balance element. Any unit shooting red is good against infantry, units shooting blue are good against vehicles, and units shooting green are good against buildings.
-Soundtrack taken directly from Attack of the Clones and the other films. Never get tired of the John Williams score.

Cons:
-Combat is a bit weird. While there are advantages to using certain units in certain situations, often it comes down to numbers. Like Starcraft's Zergling Rush, it's certainly possible for a massive army of cheap units to overwhelm a highly advanced enemy. And this game doesn't have the "TIE Bomber is good against Mon Cal Cruiser, but bad against A-Wing" set up of later games like Empire at War.
-The graphics are dated. This game was based on, and used the graphics engine of, Age of Empires and its sequel, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, which came out in 1997 and 1999, respectively. So the graphics were already 2-4 years old when Galactic Battlegrounds was released (3-5 by the time Clone Campaigns came out).
-Unit scale is a problem with many real-time strategies, and Clone Campaigns is no exception. As you can see in the figure above, the scale implies that the AT-TE is roughly the same size as both the SPHA-T and a Reek, and that very few could fit inside the Acclamator. But again, this is a problem with many, if not most, RTS games.
-A major part of the game is collecting resources and base building. This can take away from the action, as it can be tedious work.

Fun Facts:
-Both Galactic Battlegrounds and Clone Campaigns got fairly good reviews. Gamespot gave the first game 8.2/10, citing great controls and game mechanics. They gave Clone Campaigns 6.4/10, but only because it didn't add as much to the original game as other expansion packs might have (apparently many of the smaller tweaks to the game were almost insignificant).
-Recall that this game uses the Age of Empires engine? That game had no air units. So how did they model the starfighters? As clusters of flies. Cool, huh?
-The events of this game take place in the first few weeks of the Clone War, probably concurrently with the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the game I looked at not too long ago).
-Sev'Rance Tann is a Dark Side Adept and Dooku's apprentice, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Separatist Forces. Essentially, she serves the roles filled by both Asajj Ventress and General Grievous in later materials.
-Echuu Shen-Jon would later be recovered from Krant when Princess Leia's ship crashes there. He would go on to assist the Rebel Alliance in securing a Jedi artifact and ensuring it would stay out of Imperial hands. He was killed in a duel with Darth Vader to ensure that Princess Leia escaped. This was chronicled in the Rebel campaign of Galactic Battlegrounds.
-The final mission of the game is the Liberation of Coruscant, playing as the New Republic.

I enjoyed the game Galactic Battlegrounds, and enjoyed watching the clips of Clone Campaigns. If you're able to find this, I recommend picking it up. I've been looking for it lately (I remember seeing the Galactic Battlegrounds Saga, which included both the game and the expansion pack, at Wal-Mart for less than $10).

Next up: Three of the four Hasbro Toys R Us comics that tied into Attack of the Clones: Most Precious Weapon, Practice Makes Perfect, and Machines of War._________________http://taralbooks.blogspot.ca

Last edited by Taral-DLOS on Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:51 pm; edited 1 time in total

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:49 pm

Message

Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 2062Location: Ontario, Canada

I was going to post about the three Hasbro minicomics that were produced to advertise Star Wars toys, but after reading them, I learned that my chronology was off. This has been rectified in the post on the first page.

The first one, below, actually goes in position number 7 overall, between the events of the first and second issues of the Attack of the Clones comic adaptation.

First, a note on these Hasbro comics: I am only reviewing issues 2-4, since issue 1 technically takes place before the events of Episode II (I believe several weeks earlier, even before the novel The Approaching Storm). If you want more information on these comics, check out The EU Review on Solosound.net, specifically the 9th The Obscure Side podcast, dated 4 May 2011.

7 (retroactive): Practice Makes Perfect

Practice Makes Perfect was the third Hasbro/Toys-R-Us minicomic that was produced to tie in with Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It was released in 2002, written by Jason Hall and penciled by Manuel Garcia. It was never collected in a Trade Paperback, but was eventually brought in with the other three Hasbro comics in Omnibus: Menace Revealed, published 22 July 2009 and retailing at $24.95. I read this story in that Omnibus.

Summary:
Anakin and Obi-Wan are fighting against a number of enemy droids. Lightsabers out, they slash at them and deflect their bolts, destroying them without much effort. Anakin, cocky as ever, runs his mouth during the battle, for which Obi-Wan chastises him. At the end of the battle, it is revealed that the battle was a training session in the Jedi Temple. Mace Windu and Plo Koon arrive, to tell them that the Jedi Council has a mission for them.

Pros:
-Dialogue is believable. Anakin may well be that cocky.
-The battle is very well choreographed.
-Plo Koon's face! Although it was originally thought to be ambiguously canon (note that Plo Koon needs that mask to live), his facial structure was confirmed to look like that in the comic Purge: Seconds to Die (from November 2009). Perhaps his mask is being repaired, and he can use the Force to live without it for short periods?

Cons:
-Counter to the first pro: Anakin is really cocky. You want to slap him.
-Mace Windu doesn't look right at all. His face is all wrong. Granted it may not be him.

Fun Facts:
-Like the other Hasbro comics, I originally placed this out of order. This takes place very early in Attack of the Clones, after the assassination attempt on Padmé's ship. I assume that the mission that Mace and Plo give to Obi-Wan and Anakin at the end is probably the mission to protect Padmé.
-This comic is also an advertisement for Star Wars action figures.

This story is alright, though Anakin's cockiness did really bother me. It's accurate to the character, but irritating as a personal trait. If you're going to buy it, get it through the Omnibus.

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars was released on 22 March 2011 for the PC, XBox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Playstation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS. It is the most recent Star Wars game released (as of writing). I do not yet own it, and so I watched Youtube videos of both missions that correspond to the Battle of Geonosis.

Summary:
-The game begins with the Battle of Geonosis. You play as Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé as you escape the Geonosis arena. All three characters work together to escape, then subdue the Reek, the Nexu, and the Acklay.
-The game gives a choice of three paths to follow (Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Asajj Ventress). The first mission of the Dooku path continues the Battle of Geonosis. Playing as either Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, or Kit Fisto, you attack various CIS targets on the surface of Geonosis.
-I won't recap the rest of the game, but basically there are Republic missions that follow the following episodes of The Clone Wars: The Gungan General, Jedi Crash, Defenders of Peace, Weapons Factory, Legacy of Terror, Duel of the Droids, Shadow of Malevolence, Destroy Malevolence, Lair of Grievous, Rookies, Grievous Intrigue, The Hidden Enemy, Ambush, Blue Shadow Virus, Storm Over Ryloth, Innocents of Ryloth, Libery on Ryloth, and Zillo Beast, and CIS missions covering the episodes Hostage Crisis and Castle of Doom (third quarter of The Clone Wars movie).

Pros:
-This game has the same charm as the other Lego Star Wars games (and Lego games in general). It's funny, and it gets the story across without words. Very good storytelling.
-The controls of these games are rather easy and intuitive.
-There are a lot of missions here. No less than 22 missions (six per path, three paths, plus 2 CIS missions and the prologue).
-These games always have a lot of unlockable elements too. And since you can't unlock everything on a single playthrough, there's a lot of replayability.
-Still using the John Williams score (as well as music from the rest of the TV show).

Cons:
-It is cartoony. Not everyone likes that.
-The story elements can differ somewhat from the way the story is told in other media. For example, in Episode II, Padmé didn't help Anakin break free of his chains, and the two didn't work together to subdue the Reek. But that's how it's portrayed here. Continuity sticklers may not appreciate these differences. Though the point is moot: Lego Star Wars games are not considered canon.

Fun Facts:
-This is the first Star Wars game for the Nintendo 3DS. I cannot vouch for how well the 3D worked; anyone who's played it should let me know!
-This game got good reviews. IGN gave it a 7.5/10. The PSP and DS versions got lower marks, but the cross-platform game earned rankings between 6 and 8 out of 10.

I've always been a fan of the Lego games. I own Lego Star Wars for the PC, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Lego Batman for the Wii, and I've rented Lego Harry Potter Year 1-4 on the Wii. All of them were fun. The only thing preventing me from buying Lego Star Wars III for my Wii is the price. I'm hoping to pick it up used at EB Games or Gamestop soon. But I will be buying this, and recommend others do as well.

Machines of War is the fourth Hasbro minicomic (and second to be reviewed here). It was published in 2002 by Dark Horse Comics and Hasbro as a tie-in comic to the toys of Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It was written by Jason Hall, with Francis Portella as the penciller. Like the other Hasbro comics, it was collected in Omnibus: Menace Revealed, which was the source I used to review it.

Summary:
Master Yoda leads a squad of Clone Troopers aboard a LAAT/i gunship towards the Geonosis Arena. There, they rescue several Jedi there, and then deploy into the battle proper. The clones aboard the gunship use the various capabilities of the LAAT/i, including its blasters, composite beams, rockets, and tow cable, to destroy several Vulture Droids. Meanwhile, Yoda contemplates the need for such destructive weapons, and how much death they will unfortunately cause.

Pros:
-The Gunship is really cool.
-We get to see Yoda's LAAT after they dropped off Mace and the other Jedi at the assembly area. Other sources would explore the actions of Mace, Kit Fisto, and Ki-Adi-Mundi (Star Wars: The Clone Wars game and Lego Star Wars III), but this shows what happened to Yoda.

Cons:
-Some of the faces still look off, especially Padmé's in the Geonosis Arena. She looks almost Manga-ish.
-It always bothered me that, in Episode II, Obi-Wan/Anakin's LAAT couldn't shoot down Dooku's speeder bike, because they were out of rockets. This irritation is exacerbated here, because Yoda's LAAT can shoot dead ahead with its antipersonnel blasters and composite beams (turret and wing-mounted).

Fun Facts:
-This Hasbro comic I correctly placed near the end. This starts at the Battle of Geonosis, and belongs here, near the end of Episode II tie-ins. Issue #2 of this series takes place after this.
-This comic is also an ad for the LAAT/i gunship toy.
-We never again see the LAAT/i use its tow cable in a proper canon source. We only see them again in the non-canon Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (note: not the original Lego Star Wars, as the Geonosis level was different in the first game), where LAATs can tow bombs into structures like shield generators.

This is a fun little story, and a fun read if you own the Omnibus. But don't seek this out in its original format unless you're a collector.

Next on the list is Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive. I'll be quite busy the next few days, but hope to get it done before the end of the week._________________http://taralbooks.blogspot.ca